Chicken Taco Salad
Chicken Taco Salad – Loaded with taco sauce, chicken thighs, pinto beans, corn salsa, and crushed up crunchy taco shells. Made in under 30 minutes and packed with flavor!
I love a taco salad. But this taco salad…. it’s on another level. It has so much flavor in the chicken bean taco mixture from the enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, and lime juice. The creamy elote corn salsa adds another level of texture and creaminess. It’s so good.
What lettuce to use?
We love romaine lettuce! Shredded romaine lettuce is most commonly used on tacos. So it keeps the taco theme going.
You don’t need any dressing for this chicken taco salad…
Between the skillet sauce on the chicken and the creamy elote corn… you don’t need any dressing. Both are saucy enough to coat the lettuce PERFECTLY.
But if you want a dressing, I’d recommend this chipotle honey vinaigrette.
Recipe modifications
You can use Frontera’s beef taco skillet simmer sauce instead of the enchilada sauce, taco seasoning, and lime juice. I used to use that skillet sauce. But it’s getting harder to find!
This salad is super customizable. Leave off any toppings and add anything else you like in your taco salads. Black beans, avocado, chopped tomatoes, and/or pico de gallo would all be delicious.
You can also use crushed tortilla chips instead of crushed tortilla shells.
What goes with chicken taco salad as a side?
Chips and guacamole or chips and salsa would round out this meal perfectly. Or make some Mexican rice to go on the side!
Chicken Taco Salad
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced into 1 inch cubes
- Salt and pepper
- 1 (14 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
- 1 (1 oz) packet Taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 lime, juiced
For the corn salsa:
- 1 (10 oz) package frozen corn, thawed in the microwave
- 1/2 cup (~2 oz) crumbled queso fresco (or crumbled feta)
- 3 Tablespoons mayo
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- Salt to taste
For the salads:
- 4 crunchy taco shells (more or less depending on how many chips you like in your salad)
- 2 romaine hearts, thinly sliced
- pickled onions
- Cilantro (optional)
- Taco Bell Mild sauce (optional)
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the olive oil and diced chicken to the skillet. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Squeeze the lime juice over the chicken and stir in.
For the corn salsa:
- Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.
For the salads:
- Bake taco shells in oven according to package instructions.
- In salad bowls, add a little shredded lettuce. Top with the chicken, elote corn, pickled onions, cilantro, and crushed taco shells
Loved it! So easy for a quick week night meal. For the corn salad, I used an extra lime and fresco cheese instead of the feta. Topped my salad with chopped avocado and some salsa. Thank you for a great recipe.
Love the modifications! So glad you loved it!!
Can you add the nutritional value to your receipes?
Yes! I added it to this recipe and will work on adding to my other recipes.